Tone Dial
by Nurofen
Summary: A pirate's life is a dangerous one, and death is not an unknown or uncommon visitor to the moby dick. Thus they found it helped to have one's last message to family and friends recorded on a tone dial wherever possible, to help ease the pain of their passing.


**I had an angsty dream the other night and all I wrote down about it was Tone Dial; Ace - Luffy and so I decided to write this. Have fun(?)**

* * *

When you lose a loved one, whether it be that they have died, or they moved halfway across the globe, or even just that you had an argument and no longer talk, one of the first things you forget is the sound of their voice.

Words remain, but the sound of their voice is forever lost, and the pain of realizing you can't remember that cuts deeper than any physical wound.

When Luffy realizes that he can't remember the sound of Ace's voice, can't remember the exact way he laughed, exactly how his voice used to growl when he was angry. Can't even remember how his voice would hitch when upset, it felt like someone had ripped open his ribcage and torn out his heart.

The Thousand Sunny had been quiet all morning as the rest of her crew had gone out to shop for supplies before they set off, leaving only the heart broken captain aboard.

He wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes and took a shaky breath before sitting up. He dragged a hand through his hair and took another breath, his eyes silently surveying the grassy deck before him.

Nothing had moved since the crew had left, but where the sky had been dull and cloudy before it was now replaced with brilliantly warm sunshine that filtered gently through the tree above him.

He sighed and pushed himself to his feet, intending to go raid the kitchen whilst Sanji was away, when a shadow shifted in the periphery of his vision. He tensed and turned sharply, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

The shadow put his hands up in surrender, a lazy, distant, look on his face

'Whoa there Strawhat, I'm not here to hurt you, yoi.'

Luffy's scowled at the man. 'Who are you?'

The other man sighed, dropping his arms and inadvertently causing Luffy to become more wary.

'I'm Marco, we met for a moment or two at... At Marineford.' He sighed and shuffled awkwardly, reaching into his pocket and drawing out a simple red shell.

'I only came to give you this. I know he wanted you to have it, and I only wish I could have gotten it to you sooner.'

Luffy willed himself to relax and walked over to Marco, taking the shell with a hand that only shook slightly.

There was a long moment's silence as Luffy stared at the dial.

'Thank you.'

'It was nothing, we always give a di-'

'Not for this. For accepting him into your crew. For giving him a place to belong' Luffy looked at the floor and scratched the back of his head.

'His last- The last thing he said to me before he- he...' He drew a shaky breath. 'H-He said to tell you guys; 'E-Even though I'm so w-worthless. Even though I carry the blood of a demon. Thank you for loving me!''

Luffy wiped the tears from his eyes, and he could see that Marco was nearing having to do the same.

'I... Thank you Strawhat. He- He talked about you a hell of a lot you know? Mainly when he was drunk, but he'd always have the goofiest smile on his face.' Marco looked up into the sky and subtly wiped a tear away. 'We never had the heart to shut him up, he was just so damn _happy_.'

Marco shook his head and turned away 'I ought to head off now. The others will start to worry about me. I'll pass on the message though, don't worry about it. Oh, and there's a den den number written on the shell. Call if you ever need us.'

Marco wiped his eyes one last time before turning his wings into that signature blue fire, taking off from the deck in two easy flaps of his wings.

* * *

Luffy turned the red shell over in his hands as he sat at the kitchen table. He wasn't exactly _afraid_ of what it contained, but he didn't know if he could cope with whatever Ace had said into it.

Oh, he knew it was a tone dial, even _he_ could tell that much.

But what it contained? He had now way of knowing that until he pushed the apex of that shell.

Luffy closed his eyes and took a breath, gently pushing down the apex of the shell.

 _'-that how I do it? OI THATCH! HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS THING'S ON?'_

 _'Did the top of the shell click when you pushed it?'_

 _'Yeah?'_

 _'Then it's on, you doofus!'_

 _'Oka- HEY! I'M NOT A DOOFUS!'_

Luffy stifled a choked sob. It was him. It was Ace. This was what his voice sounded like. The memories came flooding back and he couldn't think how he ever forgot how Ace's voice sounded. He wiped his eyes and took a breath, not wanting to miss anymore.

 _'-can go shove it up his ass' Ace laughed. 'Right, where was I? Oh yeah, this stupid tone dial thing.'_

 _Ace sighed, accompanied by the dull thunk of what must have been his elbows hitting something wooden, a desk perhaps._

 _'Hey Lu. If you're listening to this, then I broke my promise to you. It was a stupid promise to begin with, I was just a stupid kid then. It didn't really occur to me that everyone dies.'_

 _He gave a half chuckle. 'We're Pirates, of course we're going to die someday! I just wanted to protect you. You're my little brother, it's my job to look after you.'_

 _Another forlorn sigh followed a brief silence._

 _'You and Sabo changed me so much. I think back to before I met you and Sabo occasionally. About how much could have been different. I used to be filled with such hate and anger.' A faint swishing sound signalled Ace shaking his head._

 _'Then Sabo came along and he showed me, 'Hey, screw what the world thinks of you! If you're free, you can do whatever you want!' He slowly chipped away at the walls that I'd built up and showed me that there was another path. I didn't need to prove them right. I could be my own person, it didn't matter who my father was.'_

 _Ace took a shuddering breath. 'And you, Lu. You were a ray of pure sunshine. You came into my dark hell of a world and you breathed life and happiness into it. I- I don't think I'd be where I am today, have so many great and caring friends, a second family that gave me a place to belong, without you. Thank you. You loved me in spite of all I said and did and made me a better person.'_

 _'I don't know who your crew are yet, you haven't even got your first bounty yet! But I bet they're a great group of people. Keep them close, and fight to protect them, no matter what. You're the only brother I've got left, so you take yourself as well, alright'_

 _Ace sniffed and there was a moment of silence as he pulled himself together._

 _'And remember that I- I love you Lu. I always have, and I always will.'_

 _-CLICK!-_

Luffy wiped the streaming tears from his eyes, his shoulders shaking. Ace never was good at showing affection normally, but somehow he'd manage to pack all his love into that one message.

There was a sudden rumbling as eight pairs of feet trooped on deck with supplies, chatting away happily.

'I'm telling you, there was a giant blue fire bird flying away from the port!' Usopp was insisting, his claims meeting only scepticism from the rest of the crew.

Zoro sighed 'We heard you the first time, but that's just not possible. Whoever heard of blue fire? Let alone a bird on fire.'

'Stranger things have happened ufufu' Robin chuckled.

Luffy rubbed his eyes and put on a big smile, shoving the tone dial into his pocket to hide away later. He ran out of the kitchen into the sunshine and leant of the railing.

'WELCOME BACK GUYS!' He yelled, a pained smile turning the corners of his mouth.

'Why were you in the kitchen, shitty captain? You better not have stolen what's left!' Sanji yelled up at him, and Luffy chuckled.

He'd look after them. He wasn't going to let anyone else be taken from him every again.


End file.
